Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I can feel their blue hands touching me
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out

This machine will, will not communicate
These thoughts and the strain I am under
Be a world child, form a circle
Before we all go under
And fade out again and fade out again

Cracked eggs, dead birds
Scream as they fight for life
I can feel death, can see its beady eyes
All these things into position
All these things we'll one day swallow whole
And fade out again and fade out again

Immerse your soul in love
Immerse your soul in love



Lyrics submitted by piesupreme, edited by GoodOldFashionedLoverBoy, Yazardshir

Track duration: 04:14


Street Spirit (Fade Out) song meanings
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  • 0
    Song Meaning:"Street Spirit is about staring the f--king devil right in the eyes… and knowing, no matter what the hell you do, he’ll get the last laugh…and it’s real…and true."-Thom Yorke

    What this means is that however much satisfaction, happiness or success we experience through life, it will eventually have to end, and this world that people have been sustaining for millions of years, will one day rot away.The devil will get the last laugh

    "‘Street Spirit’ has no resolve… It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end."-Thom Yorke
    Flag Elzibudon March 12, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Reminds me of the show must go on by queen
    Flag bowenngon February 01, 2013   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:I guess everyone interprets songs differently but for me this song perfectly captures Peak Oil, overpopulation (“Rows of houses all bearing down on me”), and the death march of industrial "progress". The world is quickly running out of energy and we're doing virtually nothing to save ourselves except digging ourselves deeper into the hole.

    Over the next 50-100 years we will enter a Malthusian Collapse and billions of people will die. Our population will be reduced to a few hundred million. We'll bring most of the other species on the planet with us too (“Cracked eggs, dead birds Scream as they fight for life”). If you are young you will likely die before old age. Your children will more likely die before old age. If they survive to have kids your grandchildren will even more likely die before old age. There will be a few survivors, the lucky and/or strong.

    Our options for averting this catastrophe are growing slimmer by the year. We are quickly approaching the point of no return, the downward slide down the back side of the Hubbert Curve. Energy doesn’t care. It either is available or it isn’t. If it isn’t, we die. No bargaining available (“This machine will, will not communicate”)

    What's frightening is that I'm about as qualified as you can get to make this determination (“I can feel death, can see its beady eyes”). I've spent years in school studying these things, years working in these fields, and years analysing the situation, and can spout off all the numbers you'd ever want to hear about it. We had the chance to prevent this decades ago and we were warned, but we didn't act and now it’s probably too late. The gun is cocked (“All these things into position”). Now we must embrace it (“Be a world child, form a circle Before we all go under”).

    Every day this eats at my soul (“These thoughts and the strain I am under”). But every once in a while the immensity of the numbers I dispassionately write about really sinks in and I am overcome with grief and despair (“I can feel their blue hands touching me”). This will be the end of the world for all intents and purposes. Hardly anyone understands. If they do have the capacity to understand, they don't want to believe the numbers. They deny. They hope. The media lies to distract. But one day we will all realize. (“All these things we'll one day swallow whole”)

    There is no way to solve overpopulation other than population reduction. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for humanity. Our only salvation is spirituality (“Immerse your soul in love”) and the knowledge that once we are gone, Life on Earth will pick up the pieces and continue on for another few hundred million years.

    markbc.net/
    Flag MarkBCon January 04, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:OK Computer starts here!
    Flag bowenngon December 02, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I know its a sad song , but every time I play this song , it feels me better !
    Amazing Song
    Flag Yazardshiron October 17, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:This song is about the complete loss of the ability to feel or recognize what it means to love. It is the expression of personal apocalypse and the deepest angst of the soul. The lyrics, inspired by the famished road , connect to a foreboding or sense of crisis in humanity and human nature. It is the saddest song ever written, in my opinion. The song brings down on the listener a sense of absolute nothingness and soul asphyxiation. And the apprehension that some kind of absolute evil lurks at the heart of nothing is what i think Thom is getting at in his comments. As he says of knives out, the shine goes out of others' eyes. Put at its simplest, its the ultimate ending song.
    Flagged jonny-ohon September 18, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I do not fully agree that there is no hope in this song. He seems to be saying that the bad things will fade out too.
    Flagged JohnTheSavage1on September 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I think this song is trying to convey the theme of a new dark era that we are moving towards. “Rows of houses, all bearing down on me” and “All these things we’ll one day swallow whole” seem to point to the destruction of our homes and the Earth, due to mankind. “This machine will, will not communicate these thoughts and the strain I am under.” As we dive deeper and deeper into the ‘digital age’, we begin to rely on technology more than ever. But technology does not have soul; it cannot truly communicate with people or share feelings… therefore, the closer we become to it, the more of our humanity is lost. The song encourages us to “be a world child, form a circle”, to become more aware of the issues in the world around us and to “form a circle” and work together to change the world for the better. The last stanza is more or less self-explanatory. “Cracked eggs, dead birds scream as they fight for life.” A nuclear war commences, and life on Earth will inevitably die off. “I can feel death, I can see its beady eyes.” “All these things we’ll one day swallow whole.” Our world and its creatures will perish… and humanity will fade out… again.
    Flagged lyricsoflife97on January 12, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is trying to convey the theme of a new dark era that we are moving towards. “Rows of houses, all bearing down on me” and “All these things we’ll one day swallow whole” seem to point to the destruction of our homes and the Earth, due to mankind. “This machine will, will not communicate these thoughts and the strain I am under.” As we dive deeper and deeper into the ‘digital age’, we begin to rely on technology more than ever. But technology does not have soul; it cannot truly communicate with people or share feelings… therefore, the closer we become to it, the more of our humanity is lost. The song encourages us to “be a world child, form a circle”, to become more aware of the issues in the world around us and to “form a circle” and work together to change the world for the better. The last stanza is more or less self-explanatory. “Cracked eggs, dead birds scream as they fight for life.” A nuclear war commences, and life on Earth will inevitably die off. “I can feel death, I can see its beady eyes.” “All these things we’ll one day swallow whole.” Our world and its creatures will perish… and humanity will fade out… again.
    Flag lyricsoflife97on January 12, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it is said that " It is the dark tunnel without the light at the end" but There Is a light at the end and that is "Immerse your soul in love" as he says at the end, this way you can win the devil!
    ..so to me this song is not upsetting. on the contrary ,full of hope at the end ! :)
    Flag elahehon October 14, 2011   Link

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